The region's Liberal Democrats are calling on members of the House of Lords to uphold the Freedom of Information Act.

The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill has been put forward by MPs in a bid to keep details like their travel expenses secret in a move Libs Dems have slammed as "self serving and anti-democratic".

Members of the party have voted unanimously to campaign against the bill.

Senior Councillor Ron Beadle, parliamentary spokesman for Newcastle North, proposed the motion to the conference and called for all political parties to support the Freedom of Information Act, with no special exemptions. He said: "The Freedom of Information Act should be strengthened, not weakened."

The House of Lords will be voting on the bill with the amendment made by MPs to make travel expenses, paid for by the tax payer, secret.